Blake and Murphy

Blake and Murphy was a villainous professional wrestling tag team in WWE on their developmental territory NXT consisting of Wesley Blake, Buddy Murphy and their valet Alexa Bliss, where they are one time NXT Tag Team Champions after defeating former champions Lucha Dragons.

Blake and Murphy
The three members of the team from left to right: Blake, Bliss and Murphy in April 2016
Tag team
Members(Wesley) Blake
(Buddy) Murphy
Alexa Bliss
Name(s)Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy
Team Thick
Blake and Murphy
The Blake-Alexa-Murphy Factor (BAMF)
Billed heightsBlake:
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Murphy:
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Alexa:
5 ft 1 in (1.55 m)
Combined
billed weight		465 lb (211 kg) (Blake: 240 lbs, Murphy: 225 lbs)
DebutAugust 14, 2014
Years active2014–2016

History

In August 2014, Wesley Blake abandoned his previous cowboy character and formed a tag team with Buddy Murphy. On the August 14 episode of NXT, Blake and Murphy were defeated in the first round of a number one contender tag team tournament by Kalisto and Sin Cara,[1] later known as The Lucha Dragons. For the rest of 2014, Blake and Murphy lost multiple matches to teams such as the Lucha Dragons and The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch). Blake and Murphy were once referred to as "Team Thick" in October, but that name was dropped in later episodes.[2][3][4][5] Also in October 2014, Blake and Murphy were involved in a tag-team battle royal to determine the number one contenders to the NXT Tag Team Championship; they were eliminated from the match by The Ascension.[6]

On the January 21, 2015 episode of NXT, Blake and Murphy scored their first-ever televised victory by defeating The Vaudevillains.[7][8] This led to a title match on the January 28, 2015 episode of NXT (taped on January 15) where Blake and Murphy defeated The Lucha Dragons to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.[9][10]

At a January 31 NXT house show, Blake and Murphy were billed without their first names.[11] This name change translated to television at NXT TakeOver: Rival, where Blake and Murphy defeated The Lucha Dragons in a rematch for the titles.[12] In March, Blake and Murphy began a rivalry with Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady,[13] while attempting to woo their valet Carmella on several occasions.[14] On the May 13 episode of NXT, Blake and Murphy distracted Carmella during her match with Alexa Bliss, causing her to lose.[15] At NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, Blake and Murphy defeated Amore and Cassady to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship after interference from Bliss.[16] Blake and Murphy lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to The Vaudevillains at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.

Following their championship loss, Blake and Murphy would go on a multi-month losing streak, losing their rematch with The Vaudevillians, while also suffering losses to American Alpha, The Hype Bros, Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, and The Ascension. On the May 18 episode of NXT, after losing to Shinsuke Nakamura and Austin Aries, Alexa walked away from Blake and Murphy, leaving the duo and later being called up to WWE's main roster as part of the 2016 WWE Draft. On the June 1 episode of NXT, Murphy would revert to his "Buddy Murphy" ring name in a loss against Tye Dillinger. On the June 15 episode of NXT, Blake and Murphy reunited, but after a miscommunication between the two, they were defeated by TM-61. Again, the two attempted to battle The Hype Bros on the July 6, 2016 episode of NXT, but were interrupted by the returning Rhyno, leading to Murphy walking out on Blake. A scheduled match between Blake and Murphy on the October 12 episode of NXT did not take place as both men were defeated by Samoa Joe. The duo then both ceased to appear regularly on television, Furtherly throughout the beginning of 2018, Murphy made his main roster debut by signing with 205 Live, thus having no chance for the reformation of the team or duo. Blake was eventually released from WWE on April 15, 2021,[17] while Murphy was released on June 2, 2021.[18]

Championships and accomplishments
Blake (right) and Murphy (left) as NXT Tag Team Champions in May 2015

References
  1. James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT report 8/14 Week 111: Neville defends NXT Title vs. Breeze, tournament continues, #1 contender to Women's Title; Overall Reax". PWTorch.com. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  2. Asher, Matthew. "NXT: Badda-Bing! Realist chick in the ring Carmella makes her debut". Canoe.ca. Slam Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  3. Justin, Justin. "James's WWE NXT report 10/23: Neville defends NXT Title against Titus O'Neil, Tyler Breeze, Ascension, more; Overall Reax". PWTorch.com. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  4. Howell, Nolan. "NXT: Neville gives Zayn another big loss". Canoe.ca. Slam Wrestling. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  5. Howell, Nolan. "NXT: Zayn and Neville face-to-face". Canoe.ca. Slam Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  6. Namako, Jason. "WWE NXT Results - 10/30/14 (O'Neil VS. Zayn II)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  7. Witner, Emerson. "WWE NXT TV Report: Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd, Blake/Murphy vs. Lucha Dragons". f4wonline.com. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  8. Howell, Nolan. "NXT: NXT Championship contender tourney kicks off". Canoe.ca. Slam Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 30, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  9. "NXT News: Next live special announced, full spoiler results from Thursday's NXT TV tapings". PWTorch.com. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  10. James, Justin. "WWE NXT Report 1/28 - Week 137: Zayn-Owens contract signing for "Takeover," #1 contender tourney continues, Emma returns, Charlotte in tag action; Overall Reax". PWTorch.com. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  11. "WWE NXT house show results 1-31-2015: Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville, Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze". f4wonline.com. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  12. Meltzer, Dave. "WWE NXT Takeover Rival results & recap: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens, Finn Balor vs. Adrian Neville". f4wonline.com. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  13. Howell, Nolan. "NXT: Owens runs through Riley". Canoe.ca. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  14. James, Justin (March 25, 2015). "JAMES' WWE NXT REPORT 3/25 - Week 145: Owens vs. Balor for NXT Title, Sasha Banks defends Women's Title; Overall Reax". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  15. James, Justin (May 13, 2015). "JAMES'S WWE NXT REPORT 5/13 - Week 161: Owens-Zayn final confrontation before Takeover, Itami & Balor vs. Breeze & Rose main event, Women's champ, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  16. Trionfo, Richard (May 20, 2015). "LIVE ONGOING WWE NXT TAKEOVER UNSTOPPABLE REPORT: BAYLEY AND CHARLOTTE VERSUS DANA BROOKE AND EMMA". PWInsider. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  17. "Samoa Joe, Billie Kay, Mickie James and other Superstars released". wwe.com. 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
  18. "Braun Strowman, Aleister Black, Lana, and other Superstars released". WWE. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  19. "NXT Tag Team Championship". WWE. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
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